The presence of many electrical devices in our environment is becoming a concern for everybody. Electrical devices generate magnetic and electric fields that can potentially be harmful to the health of humans and other living species. These fields are produced using a number of frequencies and energy levels.
For example, the fields produced by lamps, by toasters or by the electrical wiring in a house are all examples of extremely low frequency fields (ELF) generating devices. These ELF generating devices produce fields of frequencies around 60 Hz in North America and 50 Hz in Europe. On the other hand, computer screen and anti-theft devices are examples of devices generating intermediate frequency (IF). These IF generating devices produce fields of frequencies in the range of about 300 Hz through 10 MHz. Televisions, radio stations and mobile phones are all examples of radio frequency fields (RF) generating devices. These RF generating devices produce fields of frequencies in the range of about 10 MHz through 300 GHz. The effects of these fields depend on the field's strength, the frequency and the level of energy of each field.
The effects on health of these electromagnetic fields (EMF) are the object of many studies. These EMF, depending on their energy level, can induce current in the human body, they can generate heat in the body, they can affect the human DNA, they can affect human cells and they can cause electric shocks among other effects. Other potential harmful health effects include the Alzheimer disease and many types of cancers such as leukemia and brain cancer.
Consequently, many organizations have conducted studies related to the effects of EMF on human health. One of these organizations is the World Health Organization (WHO) that has established a study named: The International EMF project. Previous studies were carried out by WHO like the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) which established standard data of electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposition in 1998 that were followed by many countries. Another organization that carries studies is the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that established standards for EMF exposition in 2002 [IEEE Std C.95.1 for RF and Std. C.95.6 for ELF (2002)].
One issue facing the scientists working on these studies is a lack of data about the long time exposure to the EMF since the increasing presence of high EMF emitters, like mobile phones, is relatively new. Another problem is the identification of the sources of EMF and their associated energy level, since individuals are typically exposed to many types of EMF sources producing many kinds of EMF. In addition, scientists have to take into account the previous health history of the individuals under study. Consequently, the effect on human health of the exposure to EMF is still the object of a number of serious studies. There is therefore a need for a device that will monitor and record data representing the EMF environment of individuals in their daily activities.
In the past, a variety of EMF measuring instruments have been provided in different packages. Such instruments are commonly found in university laboratories and in professional electrician tool kits. Instrument such as spectrum analyzer, radiation dosimeter, Gaussian meter and electric field meter are well known in the art. However, these instruments are not concerned with gathering the results over long period of time. Typically these instruments will provide a measure for the instantaneous value of the current EMF energy level at different frequencies. Moreover, these instruments are typically built to measure one type of frequency range while being poorly adapted or unable, to take measurement at other frequency range. Generally these instruments are too large to be worn by an individual during normal life activities. And typically, these instruments are not concerned with the identification of the source generating the EMF and recording EMF sources data over a period of time. They are also not configured to keep an historical record of the EMF data and even less to associate geographical data therewith.
In light of these reasons, there is a need for a method and a device that provide a history of EMF exposition of an individual. Additionally, there is a need for a device that provides the identification of the source of these fields and the associated energy level thereof. It is also desirable to collect EMF data and store them in a database thus allowing a global analysis of EMF in respect to geographical location and over time.